


Reconcile.

by OddlyBookish



Series: The Aaron/Neil Brotp [5]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Exy (All For The Game), Neil and Aaron are friends, Other, Slight OOC, mentions of drug use, this took way too long sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-08 21:45:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18903262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OddlyBookish/pseuds/OddlyBookish
Summary: Aaron and Neil try to reconcile their friendship while Andrew tries to intervene.





	Reconcile.

**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry this took so freaking long but I just could not write. The ideas were not forming but here it is, late but present. Hopefully, this isn't supper ooc for you guys. LMK if you guys like this and what you'd like to see, I'm trying to figure out how to keep this going and how I will eventually close it off.

Aaron can't contact Neil Hartford.

It's not for a lack of trying, he'd called his friends' phone multiple times in the last two weeks. It seemed to be off due to the lack of ring time before the call was sent to voicemail.

He'd tried more than once to get up and head to his friends place only to be stopped by Andrew who'd send him back to bed ignoring Aaron's protest.

"He didn't give me any damn drugs Andrew!" He snaps as Andrew shoves him down on to the couch.

"He let you shoot up." Andrew snaps back, eyes narrowed.

"He didn't know!"

"He knew you were an addict, he should have kept a better eye on you."

"Fuck off." Andrew doesn't look offended, simply raises a brow at Aaron and crosses his arms over his chest. Aaron briefly wondered if the person in front of him was the same person trying to get into Neil's pants a week ago.

"He's my friend." Aaron states slowly, trying to get the words through his brother's thick skull.

"Don't care."

"I relapsed, I fucked up, I should have been stronger than that, don't blame Neil for my mistakes." Andrew's jaw ticks but he stays motionless, glaring at Aaron with a look of annoyance causing Aaron to curse and stand up, heading to the room and slamming the door behind himself.

He checks his phone, annoyed to see that Neil hadn't bothered to text back.

Katelyn still wasn't back from her small vacation, but she had been constantly checking up on her boyfriend. Sending him motivational messages and memes to try to keep his mind off of the drugs. It worked briefly.

Aaron still itched for it, he wasn't an idiot, he knew what cravings felt like, but he didn't want to relapse again. Coming off of the drugs the first time was hard enough, waking up two weeks ago craving the drug he was supposed to stay away from was worse.

Betsy had told him more than once that recovery wasn't a straight line, but waking up in his childhood room with withdraw made him feel like a failure. Seeing Andrew asleep in the small beanbag by the side of his bed made him feel like a failure. Seeing both Besty and Derek smile at him reassuringly that morning while they made him breakfast made him feel like a failure. 

Aaron wonders if he should call Matt, Neil's old roommate, and have him go check on Neil but decides against it when he remembers how iffy Neil is about certain things and knows Neil wouldn't like having Matt show up to check on him.

Aaron hears the dorm room door shut a few minutes later and heads to check what was going on. Andrew was gone but Kevin had just gotten back from the gym and was placing his gym bag down on the floor.

"Andrew?"

"Coffee with Renee."

"Great, I need a ride." Kevin shakes his head quickly and takes a step around Aaron.

"No way, I'm not getting in the middle of your fight." Kevin states as he walks to the kitchen.

"Come on Kev, Drew took the car and Neil's place is too far to walk." Kevin shrugs, not caring about a word that Aaron said causing Aaron to glare at his tall roommate.

"If you don't give me a stupid ride I'll tell Andrew about the time you had sex on his bed with Mr. Sunshine from down the hall." Aaron threatens. Kevin straightens and heads towards the door.

"Hurry up, and that's the last time you get to use that against me." Kevin snaps as he grabs his car keys. Aaron smirks but stays quiet as he follows after Kevin ignoring the French Kevin mumbled under his breath, mainly because he didn't know any French.

The ride towards Neil's apartment was rather silent, Kevin still mumbling under his breath until he pulls to a stop in front of the apartment building with a narrowed look pointed toward Aaron.

"I don't know shit about this alright?" Kevin asks.

"Yeah, whatever thanks." Kevin rolls his eyes as Aaron exits the car and heads to the apartment building.

Neil doesn't answer the door, Aaron didn't expect him to. 

Luckily he still has a key and opens the door with little hesitation. The apartment is dark, all the blinds closed casting shadows around the room. Aaron ignored the feeling in his chest at the sight of it, knowing that Neil would sit in the dark on his bad days.

Aaron heads down the hall towards Neil's room, hears his own footsteps echo in the hall as he walks. Something darts quickly across the hall causing him to jump up and curse, heart racing in his chest. He tries to calm his racing heart as Neil's door swings to a complete open.

Neil stood at his doorway, bags under his bloodshot eyes wearing his familiar oversized hoodie that both Aaron and Katelyn had tried to get rid of. In his hands, he holds a small kitten, with dark fur and big green eyes, who purred as it rubbed its head against Neil's chest.

"Aaron?"

"Since when do you have a cat?" Aaron asks, Neil shrugs in lieu of an answer and glances down at the floor.

"What are you doing here?" He asks as he scratches the top of the kittens head with his finger.

"You weren't answering." 

"You're brother made it clear not to." Aaron sighs knowing how Andrew could get and only hopes he didn't completely cost him another friend.

"Neil I'm not mad at you." Neil stays silent, glances up at Aaron quickly before stepping around him, tiny kitten still secure in his arms.

"It'd be best if you left." Neil mutters lowly.

"Damn it, Neil." Neil stays silent as he heads to the kitchen, navigating around his apartment easily despite the lack of light. Aaron himself was struggling not to bump into anything. 

Aaron watched silently as Neil placed the kitten on the counter and headed over to the sink. He crouched down to grab what looked to be a bowl and dumps some dry food into it before standing back up and placing it in front of the kitten who was following Neil's every move with its eyes.

"His name is Quarter." Neil states after some time of silence.

"Seriously?"

"He was choking on a quarter when I found him, figured he deserved some shelter for the night. It was raining." Aaron frowns, trying to think about the last time it rained, only to realize it had been the day after he had relapsed. He can vaguely remember the sound of rain hitting Andrew's car the next night as they drove back to campus.

"It wasn't your fault." He tells his friend who looks up at him with blank eyes.

"I should have been looking out for you." Neil states.

"You shouldn't have to be."

"You're my best friend, I'm supposed to be." Aaron stays silent, Neil does too, the only noises come from Quarter eating his food from his spot on top of the counter.

"Then I messed up too, I should have never dragged you to a stupid party when you looked a second from bolting." Neil sighs, crossing his arms over his chest as he leans against the counter next to his cat.

"Maybe we shouldn't be friends Aaron." Aaron glances at Neil, meeting his blue eyes with furrowed brows.

"What?" He asks in confusion and shock. Neil shrugs and stands a little straighter as he glances at Aaron.

"Maybe it's better this way, I'm a shitty friend and you have other people to look out for you. We can just... stop being friends." The kitten meows loudly, to signal he was done with his food, which causes Neil to glance over and pet him quickly before placing him on the floor.

Quarter dashes across the apartment, leaving Aaron and Neil in a heavy silence.

"Oh come on Neil-"

"Aaron it's-"

The loud pounding on the door cuts them both off. Neil sighs but moves to answer it anyway, Aaron pinches the bridge of his nose but follows after him a second later. Neil opens the door, looking shocked for a second before someone's fist connects with his nose.

"Neil!"

His friend is pushed back roughly before he has time to catch his footing and hits the floor with a grunt before Aaron can help him. Andrew enters the apartment, a guilty Kevin on his heels, with a scowl on his face. Andrew's eyes narrow on his brother, he's moving forward and grabbing him by the jacket before Aaron has much time to react.

"Let go!" Aaron snaps at his twin who ignores him easily as he glares down at the redhead who laid on the floor, fist still clenched in the material of Aaron's jacket.

"Stay away from him." Andrew snaps. Neil says nothing, blue eyes snapping towards Aaron once as he wipes at his nose, catching the drop of blood that had escaped.

"Andrew!" Aaron yells at his twin who shoves him back, the image of Neil bleeding on the floor with Quarter at his side is the last thing Aaron see's before the door is slammed shut and Andrew is pulling him away.

"Let me go." He snaps at Andrew who rolls his eyes and shoves him into the elevator.

"I told you not to see him." Andrew states in response. Aaron glares at Andrew who doesn't seem affected before turning to glare at Kevin who had stayed silent the entire time.

"Asshole."

"I didn't want to be in the middle of this shit."

"Well, you should have kept your mouth shut." 

"And you, you asshole, what the fuck was that?" He shouts at Andrew as he turns to face him.

"Payback."

"He didn't give me any damn drugs Andrew!"

"He didn't stop you either."

"When the hell will you learn that I get to pick my own friends!"

"The minute you learn that there are bad people in the world Aaron." Andrew remains calm despite the fact that Aaron was yelling at him loudly, a skill which annoyed Aaron to no end.

"He's a good person." Aaron mutters as the elevator door opens. Andrew scoffs as he shoulders past Aaron.

"Tell that to those scars on his face." Kevin pushes him slightly as Andrew speaks. Aaron glares at the taller guy but follows after his brother regardless.

"You don't know anything about him." Aaron protests.

"And you do? Come on Aaron you've only known him a few months." Andrew reminds his brother.

"I know him more than I know you." Andrew doesn't respond to Aaron, he continues on to the car with Kevin in tow. Aaron glares and stays in his spot, eventually, Andrew turns to him and quirks a brow as he unlocks his car.

"I'm not asking you for permission to be his friend, I don't need it, just leave him the hell alone. He doesn't need you fucking with him." Andrew hums and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Bring him on Christmas, we'll see what happens." He gets in the car after that, Kevin sliding into the passengers' seat while Aaron stays stationary until Andrew honks the horn causing him to move with one last glance at Neil's apartment building.

Aaron heads over to Neil's place the following morning, with a bag of McDonald's in hand and two large coffee's. He knocks twice and waits until the door swings open. Neil raises a brow but steps back to let him in regardless.

Neil's cheekbone was already bruising, his upper lip busted from where Andrew had punched him. Aaron sets the food down before heading over to the window, opening the blinds a bit in order to let some light stream in.

He turns to Neil who was wincing slightly and heads over, unpacking the bag silently while Neil turned around to grab some creamer from the fridge. He pushes the bottle of Hazelnut creamer towards Aaron, Aaron knew he only bought it because of him and Katelyn, Neil drank his coffee black.

"Any cravings?" Neil asks him after a few seconds.

"A bit, trying to ignore it." Neil frowns and looks up at him.

"Maybe you should see someone? I don't know if ignoring it is very smart." He mutters.

"It's fine." Neil nods as he takes a drink of his coffee before looking at Aaron with a brow raised.

"Your brother's okay with this?" He asks.

"Are you?"

"Just thought it'd be best you know? If I wasn't around you." Neil mumbles.

"Neil you're my best friend, things would be a whole lot worse if you weren't around." Neil rolls his eyes and moves to the sink, bending down to get a bowl of cat food just as Quarter darts into the kitchen.

The cat sits by Neil's feet until he places the bowl in front of him, moving quickly to eat as Neil stands and washes his hands.

"Any plans for Christmas?" Aaron asks.

"Probably stay here, might fly to London afterward, Stuart found out we have a long break and keeps insisting." 

"Do you want to go?" Neil shrugs and looks up at Aaron with a wry smile.

"Might be safer to be there, but the Hartford's are... special."

"Well if they're anything like you..." Neil punches Aaron's shoulder with a grin causing Aaron to smile back.

"Come over to our Christmas dinner, get out of your apartment for a bit."

"Ah yes, Turkey with a black eye on the side."

"Andrew will behave, plus Nicky will be there as a buffer, trust me he'll keep you to himself all night." Neil rolls his eyes, having heard about Nicky more than once to know exactly what Aaron was talking about.

"I'll think about it." He mutters as Aaron nods.

"Now let's eat, I need food and you need to finish watching Breaking Bad."

"I'm slightly concerned with how spot on that show is." Neil mutters as he grabs the bag of food and his coffee.

"I'm slightly concerned that you know how spot on the show is." Aaron states as he turns on the TV.

"I know my shit." He mutters lowly causing Aaron to laugh as he plays the next episode.

Time passed quickly once Neil and Aaron started talking again, and before he realized it Christmas Eve had rolled around landing Neil at Aaron's doorstep. The cold wind blew past him but he didn't pay it much attention as he waited for the door to open.

Aaron has assured him Andrew wouldn't start a fight, claiming Besty, his adopted mother, wouldn't allow Andrew to do so. Neil wasn't so sure she'd be able to stop him if needed but didn't feel like spending another holiday alone and accepted the invitation.

The door swung open revealing Aaron who rolled his eyes and ushered him inside.

"I told you not to bring anything." He states as he closes the door and takes the plate from Neil.

"I was nervous." Neil states, reminding Aaron of his friends' weird habit of baking when he was nervous.

"Cookies?" He asks after peeking inside the container.

"Yeah, there about three dozen at home." Neil mutters softly as he sticks his hands into his pockets. Aaron sighs as he urges Neil to discard his thick coat and then pulls him along to the living room.

"No fair! You didn't tell me he was cute, I would of left Erik back home and had this one keep me company." The tall curly haired guy spoke with an exaggerated wink Neil's way.

"Nicky." Multiple voices call out as the guy grins brightly and hurries to his feet.

"You must be Neil." He states happily while rushing over, leaving the blonde muscular guy behind as he shakes his head.

"Neil Hartford, nice to meet you." He states as he holds out a hand to shake only to be pulled in to a tight hug.

"Nicky." Aaron warns from Neil's side causing him to release his hold and step back.

"What? He's too cute! And he's polite, unlike you two monsters." Nicky mutters lowly before smiling at Neil.

"I'm Nicky, Aaron and Andrew's better nicer cousin." Neil lets out a laugh at that causing Nicky to smile even more if possible while Aaron scowls and shoves the cookie container at Nicky.

"Go do something useful Nicky." Nicky pouts but walks away as Aaron heads to sit on the couch with Neil in tow.

Andrew sits across from them, by himself on a love seat with a book on his lap. On the couch next to him sits the blonde muscular guy who Neil vaguely remembers Aaron mentioning once or twice.

"Neil, this is Erik, Nicky's fiance." Erik smiles but doesn't make a move to shake his hand or steal a hug which Neil appreciates and takes as a sign to do the same, instead he takes a seat next to Aaron and smiles back Erik's way.

"Nice to meet you Erik."

"Aaron tells me you're the one who's helped him with his German." Neil nods as Erik grins.

"His pronunciation was horrid." Neil mutters causing Erik to let out a loud laugh while Aaron glares his way.

"It's a miracle you were able to help at all." Erik states.

"I know how hard it can be to get a language down, had a few tricks I didn't mind sharing."

"German isn't exactly a school taught language." Andrew cuts in causing Neil to turn his way.

"It's not." 

"Why on earth did you need to learn that hm?"

"Andrew."

"My mother insisted." Neil answers ignoring Aaron.

"Interesting language she choose." Andrew states.

"I already knew French so..."

"Spanish is more common."

"Also already knew Spanish."

"A math major with a few languages under his sleeve, interesting." Aaron glares as Neil shrugs.

"Languages come in handy." 

"When you're running they sure do." Neil raises a brow but doesn't flinch, maintaining eye contact with Andrew for a few moments before turning to Erik.

"Aaron tells me you work for a large company?" He asks in perfect German. Erik grins and nods quickly.

"A large tech company actually, we do a bit of everything." Erik replies in the same language as Nicky joins the group once more. The three fall into easy conversation as Besty calls for the twins to set the table.

"He doesn't add up." Andrew mutters as he places plates down carefully knowing how meticulous Bee could be with her place settings.

"Neither do we." Aaron mumbles as he follows along placing down the cutlery settings and adjusting them accordingly.

"I don't like him."

"Bullshit, you don't like the fact that you like him."

"Shut up."

"Boys." Betsy scolds as she places the plate of mashed potatoes down next to the gravy.

"Sorry mom." The twins echo as she grins and smiles at Aaron, placing a hand on his arm as she takes the rest of the cutlery sets from him.

"Go get our guest, the foods ready." Aaron nods and heads to call everyone to the table, pulling Neil down into the empty seat at his side before Andrew could somehow get him on his side.

The table is silent for a few moments as everyone serves themselves food until Besty clears her throat and smiles at Neil.

"So Neil, Aaron tells us your a math major." She starts, Neil nods and smiles timidly.

"Yes, Mam." Betsy hums as she hands the plate over to Nicky.

"I also heard you know quite a few languages." 

"They're easy for me to pick up." Neil states.

"That's great, most people have problems with them." 

"My uncle is also quite good with languages." Neil offers causing Aaron to raise a brow at his friend wondering why he was sharing anything about his past, knowing how careful he was to mention his past.

"You should have invited him along Neil." Nicky states happily.

"He lives in the UK."

"That explains the accent." Nicky mused with a grin. Neil smiles but focuses back on his food as conversation strays away from him. He slumps slightly once most of the attention is off of him but he knows Andrew's eyes stay on him.

Aaron glares at Andrew from across the table but Andrew doesn't seem to be paying him any attention, his eyes set firmly on Neil who seems to be doing his best to ignore him.  
Someone kicks him and judging by the quick look of pain on Andrew's face he also gets a kick delivered. He turns towards Besty who smiles brightly despite the fact that she just kicked them both in the shin hard enough to bruise.

"Boys, help me in the kitchen?" She asks leaving no room for discussion. Aaron sighs as he stands while Andrew rolls his eyes and moves at a more leisurely pace.

Once in the privacy of the kitchen, Betsy's smile drops and she glares at both boys.

"What is wrong with the two of you?" She snaps lowly.

"He's the one ogling my friend." Aaron protest.

"You're the one who's friends with a drug dealer." Andrew mutters.

"Will you stop saying that? Leave him alone already." Andrew glares and looks ready to protest but is cut off when Besty all but slams the two pies on the counter shutting them up quickly.

"Stop behaving like children! Andrew leave Neil alone, he seems like a lovely kid. Aaron stop glaring at your brother and try to be civil."

"But I-"

"Take this to the table." She orders handing him the pie. Aaron sighs but takes the pie and leaves taking his regular seat next to Neil who raises a brow his way.

"You grounded for the next week?" Neil asks mockingly with a small grin.

"Shut up." He snaps back as he places the pie in the middle of the table.

Andrew and Bee return after a minute, annoyance clear on Andrew's face while Betsy looked slightly smug.

She smiles as she cuts slices of pie and hands them out to everyone at the table, Nicky and Erik carry a conversation with Bee, occasionally pulling Aaron and Neil in after trying once with Andrew and being stared at blankly.

"So any plans for the break Neil?"

"I'm actually heading to the UK for two weeks." Andrew shifts slightly in his seat at that, Nicky grins brightly.

"That seems like fun! It's always nice to be around family." Neil smiles back slightly but Aaron can feel him go tense.

"Well if they're anything like you." Aaron mutters, Nickys gasps and places a hand over his chest in mock hurt.

"Aaron! Andrew tell him he's wrong." Nicky exclaims. Andrew snorts as Nicky huffs and turns back to Neil.

"Stay in the UK, there's no point to coming back to these monsters." Neil actually laughs and shakes his head.

"If you think you have it bad, my cousins are still rooting for me and my ex." Erik laughs while Nicky smiles brightly. Aaron notices Andrew's fork stop moving for a second.

Aaron knew how much it annoyed Neil that his cousins tried to reconcile Neil's relationship with the French guy. Neil had told him that the two of them both thought it'd be best for them to split but his cousins failed to see that.

"Well maybe if you hadn't hooked up with the only other person living with your uncle that wouldn't be a problem." Aaron mutters, Neil rolls his eyes and Nicky laughs but Aaron keeps his eyes on his twin who had gone back to shoving some more pie in his mouth with a scowl on his face.

Neil leaves soon after that, Nicky and Erik turn in soon after Derek gets in from work for the night. Aaron is on his way to his room when Andrew pulls on his shirt causing him to stop and turn his way with a raised brow.

"Last chance Aaron." Andrew leaves without saying anything else but Aaron understands his brothers' words without further explanation. He heads to bed wondering how long it'd take for Andrew to stop hating Neil and go back to flirting with him.


End file.
